Lockdown.

Lockdown.

I was in bed and asleep before 9:30 p.m. Sunday night. Last night I elected to stay in again. Tonight I'm planning on skipping my regular Tuesday visit to The Burlington to stay in yet again. part of this is due to money issues as my safety net shrinks and my bank account teeters closer to the psychological edge of oblivion. I think another factor is just my need to slow down for a second and catch my breath. Last week I was out almost every night writing about or photographing concerts, and starting Wednesday I'll be going non-stop until Sunday as I shoot shows, DJ, and attend my friends' CD release ... whew!

So I suppose I needed this break.

This has also been a somewhat emotional week due to some reasons that will remain private, but I think it's fair to say that Margaret's exit from Chicagoist to move to New York, and DFW's death have both taken their toll on me as well. I know, I know, who knew I could be a sentimental sap like that, but there you have it, I am.

In cheerier news those Dandy Warhols photos are up on Chicagoist, with more on my Flickr page. I'm working on editing a bunch of other concert photos from this summer so I can put larger sets of bands like Battle, Radiohead, and Love and Rockets on my Flickr page as well. That reminds me, I have a story to tell you about concert photographers, but it's a little long so maybe I'll tell you about it tomorrow instead.

UPDATE: Hm, the above wasn't meant to bum anyone out or make them worry about me, but judging by the emails and messages I'm getting it did. I'm fine! I swear. I'm just sharing some opf my immediate concerns ... I mean, I was laid off during the last recession and back then I was far more worried about getting another job than I am now. In fact, it's only been 1.5 months that I've been out of work, and the minimum time they say it usually takes to get a new job is 2 months, so I think I'm doing O.K., especially given the number of interviews I've been on.

However, to those of you who expressed concern anyway, I do appreciate it!

EVEN CHEERIER NEWS TO OFFSET THE ABOVE: Congratulations to my little brother Sean for finally asking his long time girlfriend Maryann to marry him and she -- shockingly -- said yes. So big ups to my little bro, and my most heartfelt condolences to his future wife.